Andrew Reardon Sells 5,000 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total transaction of $1,135,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,396,196.92. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Andrew Reardon also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.31, for a total transaction of $1,156,550.00.
• On Wednesday, April 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.24, for a total transaction of $1,006,200.00.
• On Wednesday, March 4th, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of LGND stock opened at $234.40 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $101.67 and a 1-year high of $247.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $219.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The company has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,789,955,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after buying an additional 266,304 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,136,000 after buying an additional 221,996 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,011,000 after buying an additional 148,437 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 385,028.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,670,000 after buying an additional 146,311 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.